Limited Edition
by Freespirit127
Summary: Shipwreck ponders his relationship with Cover Girl.


**Disclaimer: **None of them are mine. All belong to Hasbro and Marvel and now IDW, though this story was inspired by a DDP issue.

Thank you very very much to Amy for the beating, um, beta'ing. ;)

The Lesser Evil

_Slowly, very slowly and heavily, darkness lifted from his mind. For a second he wondered what had happened, then he remembered. He and Courtney had been sent on a mission to find Skull Buster._

_Courtney._

_"Unnhhh.. Cover Girl...? You okay?"_

_When he didn't get a reply, a surge of adrenaline shot through his body, jolting him awake fully. He sat up immediately._

_"COURTNEY?" he yelled. "Cover Girl! Answer me. Greaser!"_

_He started looking around. "Damn it, where'd she go off to..."_

_Nervously, Hector turned away from the skeletal remains of a shipwreck and scratched his head. Just as he was about to yell her name once more, he spotted something from the corner of his eye, a few yards in the distance. Something that looked like a person. A woman to be exact._

_"There you are , Greaser. Been looking all over the place for you. We got a job to do and you go for a stroll."_

_Hector wouldn't have said it out loud, not now, anyway, but when he hadn't been able to find Courtney at once, Hector had been scared, really scared._

_Shaking his head, he walked up to her._

_"Did a crab bite your tongue off? Why aren't you talking to me?" _

_An uneasy feeling came over him. Courtney had always been quick with smart-ass replies, shooting them left and right in a matter of seconds. If she was so completely quiet, something had to be wrong, terribly wrong. He looked at her closer and noticed that her head hung weirdly low._

_When he was just a few feet away, Hector noticed that the sand at her feet was of an unusual dark color. A spot of a similar color was on her chest._

_"No," Hector whispered and started to run. "Please, nonono."_

_Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized that his fear had become true._

_Courtney was standing in front of a small tree. One of its limbs was sticking out of her chest, her blood dropping onto the sand at her feet._

_"Nononono," Hector repeated as he reached her. Carefully, he pulled her off the limb, pressed her close to his chest and sank down to his knees. Realizing he came too late, he let out an inhuman scream._

Bathed in sweat, Hector woke up from his nightmare. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and -most importantly- with whom.

He turned his head and looked at Courtney, anxiously waiting for any sign of life.

After what seemed like an eternity, Courtney moved a bit and muttered a few obscenities which seemed to be directed at Clutch. He was the only one she'd ever called by _that_ particular nickname. Hector grinned. Courtney could be extraordinarily creative in thinking up curses, insults and not so nice nicknames. Sometimes she even surprised Hector himself with the things she could come up with.

His smile quickly faded when he spotted the thin long bruises on her upper arm where the ropes Skull Buster had tied her to that rock with had cut into her skin. One of them had been right over a barely healed knife wound. Skull Buster had pulled the rope so tight that Courtney had screamed in pain which in turn had lead to Hector running right into Skull Buster's trap. If there hadn't been that little scorpion being in the right place at the right time and a distraction provided by Courtney...

Hector turned on his back again and rubbed his face with one hand. For a second, he wanted to kill Hawk for pairing him with Courtney for that particular mission, but he knew if he wanted to blame somebody, it would have to be himself. He'd let his feelings, his fear and worry for Courtney's safety take control.

Would it always be like this from now on? Would he always lose his head when Courtney was in danger, even though he knew that she could take of herself? Would he risk their lives and the lives of other Joes?

He turned around, facing her back again. Carefully, Hector reached for a strand of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder. It felt so silky. He lifted the strand to his nose. He loved the scent of her hair, especially since she started using that Floral Substances stuff or what ever it was called.

Inhaling deeply he wondered why he'd been blessed with her and how long this blessing would last. Hector knew they wouldn't be together forever. He had no illusion about that. Either one of them -or maybe even both- would be killed in the line of duty, or they would simply break up.

Deep in his heart Hector had always known that the latter would happen sooner or later. Courtney was way out of his league and had different plans for the future. She wanted to get married, have children and live somewhere steady instead of moving around. Hector could imagine getting married, but he knew the rest of her wishes didn't concur with his.

Courtney deserved somebody who would give what she wanted. She needed somebody who would not risk her life foolishly in a rush of emotions, someone who would go almost insane with for her life.

He knew he should end this, but he couldn't do it, not right now. No, he would wait until they would drift apart, and for the first time in his life, Hector Delgado would not fight. It would hurt both of them, but that was something they could deal -and live- with. Hector would rather have both their hearts broken then one of them not beating anymore due to his impulsiveness.

It was the lesser of two evils, the only one he could live with, if it meant that Courtney would live. That was what love was about after all. You did what was best for your partner, even if it meant to cause yourself pain.

Turning around again, Hector forced himself to stop thinking about a future that would never be and one that wasn't too far away. He had to concentrate on the present.

Even if their time together was limited, he would not waste any minute that he was granted of it.

Closing his back he tried to go back to sleep, hopefully without nightmares this time.


End file.
